For much of the early part of the year, Sen. Lindsey Graham and the White House were locked in heated negotiations over legislation that could close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, move some of the war-on-terror prisoners there to the U.S. mainland and create a system to detain Al Qaeda members captured later.

[Editor’s Note:Buried at the bottom of discussion about Guantanamo Bay are Graham’s statements about an impending terror attack.]

Some believe amending appropriations bills for the Justice Department and the Defense Department could get the Guantanamo debate rolling again after the election. However, when asked what could force action, Graham warned that another terrorist attack against the U.S. would bring urgency to the matter and not necessarily in a good way.

“There’s going to be an attack. That’s going to be the impetus. That’s going to be what it takes to get Congress and the administration talking; we have to get hit again,” the senator said, suggesting that passing a bill before that happens might be more reasonable than what would come afterward.

“If there is a successful attack, there is going to be a real violent reaction in the Congress, where we will react more emotionally than thoughtfully,” Graham said.